Improvement in curtain rollers and brackets



G. W. BEERS.

Curtain-Rollers and Brackets.-

No. l6 7,0 56.

Patented Aug. 24,1875

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. BEERS, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN CURTAIN ROLLERS AND BRACKETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 167,056, dated August24, 1875; application filed July 3, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. BEERS, of Bridgeport, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Curtain-Rollers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same, reference being bad to the annexed drawingsmaking a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a transverse verticalsection of m y curtainroller, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal verticalsectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail View.

This invention has relation to improvements in that class ofcurtain-rollers for which Letters Patent of the United States weregranted to me, dated June 16, 1874, and numbered 152,065, wherein acurtain-roller acted on by a spring for rolling up the curtain, and apawland-ratchet connection for holding the curtain at any desired pointof adjustment.

The object of the invention is mainly to improve the devices thereinshown by simplifying their co-operation also, to provide a means formore securely fastening the main actuatingspring to the axial shaft andto the roller-head, and to do away with the spiral spring shown in theabove-mentioned Letters Patent for operating the pawl, and substitute anannular strap-spring in its place. To this end the nature of theinvention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of atubularmetallic roller and of its actuating-spring, its pawland-ratchetconnection, and of its minor details, as will be fully claimed andexplained hereinafter.

In the annexed drawings, the letter A represents a curtain-roller, whichis preferably of metal and of tubular form, having its ends closed byflanged heads b. These heads are centrally perforated for the purpose ofaffording bearings to ashaft, B, which passes through the said tube, andhas coiled around it a suitable helical spring, S, one end of which isrigidly secured to the said shaft, and the other to roller-head b. Forthis purpose the inner face of roller-head b is provided with an annularcollar, 0, having two or more lugs, c, diametrically opposite eachother, to which the said spring S is rigidly secured by being passedthrough suitable perforations in the said lugs,

and then soldered into place by compressing the metal on the spring, orsimply by being soldered without being passed through theabove-mentioned perforations. Head b is attached to the roller in a veryconvenient and reliable manner by means of a sleeve, d, which is adaptedto be received into and fit tightly and. snugly in the end of tubularroller A, and the said head is provided on its outer surface with aratchetwheel, 6, for a purpose hereinafter explained. The ends of shaftB project considerably beyond its heads I), and find their 'bearings intwo end post-s, C D, which are designed to be rigidly but removablysecured to the windowframe. That end iof this shaft which projectsthrough roller-head b is screw-threaded, and it is designed to beinserted into a correspondingly-threaded recess, 1', in post D, whichhas also a larger recess, 1, adapted to receive the ratchet-wheel e.Recess r is of cylindrical form, and a deep annular groove, g, is formedat its bottom, into which a strap-spring, s, is adapted to be received,for the purpose ofholding a pawl to its engagement with ratchetwheel 0.This pawl, which I designate by the letter P, passes through a slot, j,cut in the wall of post D to an engagement with ratchetwheel 6 on head1), between the ends of spring 8 in groove g, and it is pivoted in thesaid slot by means of a pin, p. This pawl is provided on its outer endwith an eye, is, by means of which a bell-rope is conveniently attachedthereto. Pawl P, being, as shown in Fig. 1, between the ends of spring8, will, when it is caused to vibrate on its pivot, distend the saidspring doubly-that is to say, its ends will be each forced away from theother, and its reaction for the purpose of re-engaging the pawl with theratchet is thus made instantaneous, so to speak.

The curtain is fastened to the roller in any suitable manner, and beingrolled up thereon, the latter is secured into place.

When the curtain is forcibly lowered by drawing upon a tassel secured tothe bar on its lower end, spring S will be strongly wound up, as itwere, by the revolution of the said roller thus caused, and pawl P,sliding over ratchet-wheel e, will hold the curtain to its desiredadjustment.

The curtain may be automatically raised by drawing down upon thebell-cord attached to pawl P, thus disengagingit from ratchet e, and Hallowing spring S to react strongly and expeditiously.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a curtain-roller, the post D, having screw-threaded recess a,cylindrical recess r, groove 9, and pawl P, in combination with spring8, arranged in the said groove, and actuating the pawl, ratchet-Wheel eon roller-head b, roller A,Vshaft B, and spring S, substantial- 1y asspecified.

GEORGE W. BEERS. Witnesses:

JOHN R. KIMBALL, ISRAEL W. BULLooK.

